” Birth Photography is such an incredibly beautiful genre that it is most certainly an attractive direction to take your photography portfolio.
If you are someone who has been interested to learn more about birth photography in South Africa then I hope I can answer some of your questions in this blog post as you continue to read along with me.”
– Kristen van Staden, South African Birth Photographers Association
Let me start off with a question for you? Do you remember that moment you picked up your camera or smartphone and realized creating images and pausing that moment in time was something you really-REALLY wanted to do?
After this moment of self-discovery, you then began your journey as a photographer. Developing and going from hobby to enthusiast, from auto to manual, from part-time to full-time, from it’s a side line thing to I need to put food on the table, yes we have all been there I can assure you.
And just as the pressure starts to mount you realize that there is way more to being a photographer than your gear and online presence. And that it was so much more in-depth than you ever thought. You get thrown in to the deep end rather toughly and the whirlwind of juggling your self-employment begins. From clicking that shutter,to business planning, to goal setting, to accounts, to marketing and business management never mind the rest I haven’t even written out but I know you are saying them in your head right now aren’t you? 😉
But the idea of being able to maintain the balance between running a business and trying to release your creative juices just keeps you pushing through the comments of cheaper photographers, and the ever changing algorithms of social media in order to pursue what you know in your heart you never want to give up – passion to capture history! I am with you on this one and it is also why I found birth photography to be incredibly captivating.
As with your journey into photography and finding out that when you dig just a little bit how much you realize is involved, well that is pretty much how I could sum up birth photography in South Africa.
So why should I get registered you may be asking?
Birth Photography is just as you have experienced before in finding your feet as a photographer– under the service is so much more to think about, so much more to consider and so many more rules and regulations than any other type of photography genre you have ever entered into. That is why making sure you are well educated and equipped in the industry will allow you to walk forward in the right way, with the right tools and the right knowledge base to not be misunderstood as to your presence at a birth.
Rules and regulations are continuously being stipulated and informed by each hospital with the knowledge that it will be correctly handed over to registered birth photographers. There is paperwork and protocols that need to be followed by all parties and this is something that will always be adapted and changed annually.
We must all keep in mind that within the medical community comes a lot of red tape and paperwork. As an outsider asking to come into their environment we must show respect towards their right to work in a calm space and without feeling the pressure of being documented while they work. This is where SABPA comes in to educate the medical staff as to why you as a registered birth photographer are there and to give them assurance that you know the boundaries, which they have laid out to us.
It not only gives them calmness that you are professional but it shows that you have made a concerted effort to be a professional within your specialized field, just as they have. There are some hospitals/doctors who do not want photographers in theatre due to some bad experiences outside of SABPA authority, which is unfortunate but another reason to be aware of the need to register yourself as a specialized birth photographer.
I do not encourage any photographer to charge differently for natural or caesarian section as being on call for either is the same. The same amount of work is required of you and something I have seen time and time again is how often a planned c-section ends up in an emergency due to labour. So for me there is no difference in timing or planning for either way for my clients so I don’t charge any different.
Birth photography pushes you to be restricted in your space and your surroundings but still pushing you to find space to be creative and catch truly once in a life time moments. Some clients do not want their images to be shared online and others will happily share certain images online. When you photograph in a hospital environment you may not photograph any other patients. You may not photograph any staff without written permission. And most importantly you may not get in the way of any other patients that may be close by to your clients who feel you are intruding on their privacy.
I could chat more and more about this and answer more questions than you even thought to ask but right now I hope I have shown you some answers and thoughts to take in and process in your own time.
I would like to also encourage you to follow our FREE 5 day course, which comes straight into your inbox for five days. It will help guide you in the right direction to feel even more educated and informed with a possible decision to pursue birth photography in South Africa, because with all the red tape comes even more magic that is too incredible for words. We as birth photographers are certainly blessed with job satisfaction every time we enter a hospital that I can guarantee you.
Kristen van Staden
South Africa’s most professional and respected association of it’s kind. We support, grow and educate together. Community over competition.
The South African Birth Photographers Association (SABPA) represents professional birth photographers in South Africa and aims to encourage the development and growth of the professional birth photography industry in South Africa. It was founded in in 2013 out of a desire to grow birth photography as a professional service within the healthcare realm in South Africa – successfully integrating the profession into the healthcare community. The association is guided by an independent advisory board, consisting of various medical professionals. The SABPA Oath of Conduct is the cornerstone of the association and provides a benchmark for the industry in South Africa.
Our members have all written and passed their SABPA Entry Exams and taken the SABPA Oath of Conduct.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/sabirthphotographers/
@sabirthphotographers
SA Women Photographers 